Mr. Ainsley wasn't the first to sing the role of Herod — a decadent, mocking tyrant as written by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. That honor went to Mike d'Abo, a former lead singer of Manfred Mann, who voiced the cameo role on the original album of the score, which preceded the first stage production by a year. When it was time to cast the Broadway staging, however, Mr. Ainsley got the part.